Taking Chances
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: A new girl arrives on campus, and Blake doesn't know how to deal with her crush, especially when Weiss Schnee isn't said to be the nicest of people. But perhaps it's not a bad idea to give her a chance.
1. The New Girl

**P-a-t-r-e-o-n reward for Bjorn Jeppsson! They asked for Monochrome in a college setting!**

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 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Taking Chances

Chapter 1. The New Girl

Blake loved mornings almost as much as she loved evenings.

Mainly, her appreciation for those particular times of day was tied to the silence and tranquility that came along with them.

In the evening hours, everyone on campus was drowsy and exhausted from their classes, hence the relative silence that came hand in hand with the mutual fatigue shared by the college students.

Similarly, in the morning, everything was placid, at least in the hours before the alarm clocks started going off, and the cell phones started buzzing.

The earliest classes Vale University offered began at 8AM sharp, and even the most studious of people never woke much earlier than 7:30.

Which was why it was Blake's pleasure to set her alarm for 7, simply so she could laze around in bed for a while before things started to get busy around the dorm rooms. She never ceased to enjoy savoring the calmness of the morning, no matter how rainy or sunny it might've been. She just really loved that silence, that peace and quiet she could relish before having to get out of bed for classes.

And of course, the weekend mornings were even better, because on those days, she could enjoy herself even longer without the stress or worry regarding having to wake up and make it to classes on time.

But she was only that lucky about half the time.

The other half, there was always a telltale sign that it was the weekend.

Or, more often than not, there were two signs.

Blake hadn't even opened her eyes yet this morning when she tried to roll over in her bed and discovered that she couldn't. Her Faunus ears flicked in mild irritation at the sounds of familiar, guttural snores.

 _Not again..._

Heaving a sigh, she blinked herself awake to find a scene she already knew all too well.

The first thing she heard might've been Yang, but the first thing she saw was Ruby, curled up with her head tucked beneath Blake's chin. The youngest sister was still dozing peacefully, and immensely more quietly than her elder sister was.

Another loud snore right behind her ears caused Blake to jolt and stiffen, her nails inadvertently digging into Ruby's shoulders. The brunette moaned and started to stir, her eyebrows knit tightly together.

"Owie..."

Releasing a sigh, Blake loosened her hold on the girl and offered a raspy apology.

"Sorry. Your sister scared me."

"Uuu, Yaaaang..." Ruby whined. "Stop snoriiiiiing! Let Blake and me sleep a while longer!"

But her sister was still dead asleep and only continued to snore.

Blake flinched again as Yang shifted, consequently pushing all of her weight against the Faunus girl's back. The push meant that Ruby was given a good shove, which almost sent her reeling off the edge had it not been for Blake's quick thinking and tight hug to prevent it.

"Yang!" Ruby barked. "Wake uuuup!"

Blake wiggled herself a bit so she could lightly jab her elbow into the blonde girl's stomach. The snore she'd been in the middle of cut off halfway with a whimper and a groan.

"Ow... the heck was that for?"

"For almost pushing me off the bed and giving me a concussion!" Ruby cried.

"Huh? Oh..." Upon opening her eyes, Yang realized what kind of position the three of them were in, and just how advantageous her own was. "Sorry." She rolled over onto the more spacious side of the bed, then looped her arms around Blake's stomach to pull her back towards the middle. Ruby sighed with relief as she was moved back to a more solid spot on the mattress as well. Blake let her go and turned to lie on her back, glaring up at the ceiling.

"Why did you guys sneak in here again? I could've sworn I locked the door last night..."

"Gotta do better than that to keep _us_ away!" Yang declared.

"That's right!" Ruby added. "Plus it's Saturday today, so what's the harm, right? Your bed is bigger than both of ours combined, Blake!"

"I know, I know..."

Blake had known the Rose-Xiao Long sisters for many years. They'd been friends back in high school, where she'd attended classes with Yang in the same year, and Ruby was a few grades below them.

Being neighbors at the time, they'd often spent their free time together, rode the same bus to school, and generally saw a lot of each other.

When Blake and Yang had graduated, they'd both been surprised to find that Ruby hadn't been far behind. She'd been allowed to skip a grade, and was now attending the same college as her older sister and best friend.

While Blake and Yang were sophomores in college now, Ruby was technically a freshman, but some impressive scores on previous years of testing had allowed her to reach the level equivalent of a sophomore as well.

Ruby and Yang had gotten a 2-person bedroom right next to Blake's single-bed room. The two separate rooms each had their own bathrooms, but shared a connecting door in between them, making them neighbors and nothing short of roommates.

Ruby and Yang had bunk beds, both of which were rather small.

Meanwhile, Blake had been given a king-sized bed and a room all to herself. She hadn't requested it to be this way or paid extra for such a blessing, but had simply been lucky enough to be on the generous receiving end of this fluke.

So naturally, her two best friends tended to share the spoils with her whenever they could.

Blake had never actually locked them out, not unless she'd had a particularly bad day and had specifically told them she wanted to be alone. They always respected her request during those times.

But any other time, they often ended up sneaking into Blake's room to share her luxurious bed.

Of course, Blake didn't let them do so for free. Once they all got out of bed, all three of them had to help make it neat again and take turns changing sheets and doing the laundry.

Today was Blake's turn to do the laundry, so she didn't waste too much time lounging around in bed. She soon sat up, running her hands through her unkempt hair (though it wasn't half as bad as Yang's) and stretched herself out. She carefully climbed over Ruby who then rolled over to shake her sister.

"Yang, come ooooon, we gotta get up so Blake can do the laundry!"

"Seriously, Yang. I've gotta get there early or else I'll be on line for an hour."

"All right, all right."

Yang grabbed her little sister into a bear hug, making Ruby squeal as she was suddenly brought to rest on top of her. Ruby started to tickle her as Yang sat herself up and smooched her little sister's forehead.

Together, they climbed out of Blake's bed and helped her strip the sheets and blankets off, then folded them up neatly into the laundry basket.

"Thanks, guys," Blake said, picking up the basket. "I'll go bring this down."

"Let us come with you!" Ruby chirped. "We can pick up breakfast on the way back!"

"Good idea," Yang said.

The three of them decided to freshen up a bit in their respective bathrooms and to change out of their sleepwear and into more casual, but less personal outfits.

Once they were all ready, the three of them left their rooms together, with Blake holding onto the laundry basket, and a sister at each of her sides.

As they walked down the halls of the dorm room, bound for the laundry room, the girls chatted idly about what they wanted to do today.

Ruby debated what to get for breakfast, Yang remembered she had an assignment she still needed to do, and Blake offered to help her out with it a bit, which earned her a grateful hug from the side that nearly caused her to drop the basket.

They'd only made it to the end of the hallway when the trio realized things were much livelier today than they typically were this early on a Saturday morning in the girls' dorm room. There were people - both human and Faunus - standing out in the hallway, chittering and murmuring. Some sounded excited, others not so much.

Blake couldn't help it when her ears perked and naturally picked up on what the others were saying.

"Did you hear about the new girl?"

"She's transferring in now? It's like... the middle of the semester, though! How is she gonna catch up?"

"I think she's a prodigy or something."

"Not a prodigy. Just rich as hell. Her daddy will probably pay for her to get all the credits she needs and graduate early."

It was clear that there was a new student on campus, and not everyone was thrilled about it.

Blake and the others paused for a moment, unable to fend off their curiosity.

"What's going on?" Ruby wondered. "A new girl?"

"Sounds like it," her sister mumbled. "Oh, hey, Pyrrha!" Yang called out when she spotted her good friend coming towards them down the hall. Blake peered over her basket of laundry and watched as the red-haired girl smiled kindly and went to Yang.

"Good morning, you three! Have you heard the news? Someone new just came in."

"Why's it such a big deal?" Yang wondered. "Is she famous?"

"Well, perhaps something like that," Pyrrha agreed. "She's Weiss Schnee."

Ruby, Blake, and Yang recognized the name instantly and were surprised to hear it.

"Weiss Schnee?" Blake parroted. "The girl whose father owns all those jewelry stores in town? Schnee Diamonds is a huge company."

"No wonder she can just jump into the semester halfway through," Yang said. "Guess she can afford it."

"I heard she's kinda mean..." Ruby fretted. "People say she yells a lot."

Pyrrha shrugged and tried to keep her expression neutral.

"Well, I've heard the rumors too, but I don't think it's very fair to write someone off before you get to know them."

Blake nodded right away.

"I agree. We should make our own judgements once we've given her a fair enough chance."

"Yeah, I hear that," Yang said. "If we run into her, we'll just say hi!"

"And hopefully she won't yell at us," Ruby mumbled.

"Well, don't give her a reason to," Yang advised.

They chatted a moment longer with Pyrrha, until Blake's arms started to tremble and she had to put the laundry basket down. Pyrrha quickly apologized for holding them back, wished them a good day, and then hurried off down the hall.

The trio continued making their way to the stairs, then headed down to the bottom floor where the laundry room was located. As Blake had expected, there was already a crowd of people that had gathered, and she heaved a sigh in knowing she'd have to wait her turn to get to the machines.

However, it was soon made clear that the bustling groups of girls weren't here just to do laundry.

Again, Blake's ears picked up on their whispers.

"That's her!"

"God, she looks so mean!"

"She's probably just like her dad..."

The final comment had been muttered by a fellow Faunus, which made it all too clear who they were talking about.

"Hey!" Yang said in a hushed voice. "I think that's the new girl Pyrrha told us about!"

"Where, where?" Ruby jumped up and down and followed the path of Yang's pointer finger.

Blake paused and did the same, peering through the familiar girls of their dorm room. She looked past the casual clothes and varying hair colors, her gaze naturally being drawn to the person who stood out the most.

Weiss Schnee may have been small in stature, but her presence was nothing short of grand.

She was wearing a formal-looking white dress lined with blue fabrics, along with fancy shoes and several pieces of jewelry, no doubt from her own family's line of production. Her dazzling white hair was tied into a neat, tight ponytail, and she held herself with confidence and poise, her posture erect and chin held high.

There were several older women who were clearly her maids clearing a path in front of her, all of whom were rolling large suitcases behind them.

If there was one way to cause a commotion at 8AM on a Saturday in the girl's dormitory, it was a famous girl making an entrance like this.

Blake had heard about how the Schnee family's discrimination against Faunus. It was rumored that they often chased Faunus customers out of their stores whilst shouting profanities at their backs, declaring that Faunus weren't deserving or wealthy enough to be able to afford their expensive jewels.

Blake knew she had every reason to get out of this girl's way, lest she get a law suit thrown in her face. Had she been a lesser girl, she might've dropped her laundry at Weiss' shoes and have her fall flat on her face due to an unfortunate accident.

But Blake didn't have the time or luxury to entertain either of those thoughts. Because as the infamous girl passed her by, all she could do was stare.

Rendered utterly speechless by Weiss' beauty, Blake could only gape as the white-haired girl strutted by. She quickly tried to make an effort at closing her mouth, or at the very least hide herself behind the basket of laundry she was carrying. Still, she couldn't stop herself from peeking over the top to watch the girl as she passed by.

 _N-No!_ Blake shook her head instantly. _What am I thinking? I haven't even_ met _her yet! I mean, sure she's gorgeous, but people say her personality isn't all that great._

But as far as the girl's physical appearance went, Blake knew she was smitten. Her clothes, her skin, her hair...

But none of those compared to her eyes.

It was likely an inadvertent movement, but Weiss ended up turning her face to the side just perfectly enough so that her gaze met Blake's, just for a second.

Blake got lost in them, two pools of wintery blue, a light pink scar running down her left cheek. Her eyes were narrowed, but Blake could tell the glare probably wasn't personally meant for her.

Weiss' expression was likely just stern due to the stress of having to move in and get herself situated here at such an inconvenient time.

Her intense gaze both captivated and startled Blake. A hot flash of nervousness shot through her chest just as Weiss turned away and continued forward behind her maids.

Someone must have bumped into Blake's shoulder then, because she stumbled gracelessly forward, and with a yelp, crashed into a pile of her own laundry. While the bed sheets had saved her from a particularly painful fall, she could still feel the edge of the basket digging into her ribs.

"Ow..."

Whatever mystified trance she'd been under had vanished along with Schnee's daughter, leaving Blake now in an unscrupulous tangle of hair and sheets.

Ruby and Yang were at her side in an instant.

"Blake! Are you okay?"

"Easy there!"

As Yang picked her friend up and helped smooth out her clothes, Ruby scooped all the laundry back into the basket. Blake shook herself off, unable to keep her eyes from straying back down the hall the way that white ponytail had gone-

"Hey, you listenin' to me?" Yang waved a hand in front of Blake's face, effectively blocking her view and forcing her to give the blonde girl her full attention.

"What? I mean, yeah. I'm fine."

"I'll bet you are." A knowing smirk spread across Yang's lips as she leaned in and husked into her friend's ear. "After all, nothin' feels better than those butterflies when you've just seen a pretty girl, huh?"

"Wh-What?" Blake took a step back, both incredulous and embarrassed that Yang had found her out _already_. So naturally, Blake denied it. "Yang, you're crazy."

"So are you. Crazy _in love_ ~"

"I am not!" Cheeks flaring and ears flattening, Blake grabbed the basket of laundry only to hurl a sheet over Yang's head. Yang laughed from beneath it as she freed herself.

"All right, all right. I'll keep my mouth shut, Miss Sensitive~"

"Yang-"

"You're too damn cute, Blake." The blonde girl winked at her before pointedly changing the subject. "Anyways, guess we should get all this laundry done now, huh?"

"Yeah!" Ruby piped. "Then we can get some breakfast! I'm starving now! I hope they have chocolate-chip muffins!"

"If they don't, then you can just get raisin," Yang teased.

"Eeeew! Don't even joke like that, Yang!"

As the sisters went off on their little squabble, Blake begrudgingly made her way to one of the free machines to start stuffing laundry inside. She was thankful that Yang had changed the subject quickly and hadn't said anything embarrassing loudly enough for anyone else to hear.

But Blake knew that if she ever found herself alone with Yang now that she'd be subjected to a lot of teasing.

 _How the hell did she even catch on? I only even looked at that girl for five seconds! I wasn't being_ that _obvious, was I?_

She tried to comfort herself with the thought that Yang was probably just abnormally perceptive as an older sister, and that no one else had realized how smitten Blake had been.

 _I'm just making a big deal out of this._ _It was probably nothing. I'm just hungry and tired, so seeing that new girl was a surprise to me, so naturally I stared at her._

 _And just because she's pretty doesn't mean I_ like _her. There are a lot of girls on campus who I think are pretty. I'm not blind. It's not a crime to stare at someone who's obviously good-looking. I don't like her. I was just making an observation and appreciating how nice she looked. That's all._

And as Blake packed all of her laundry into the machine, she didn't really think about the copious amount of excuses she was making to herself in order to prove that she wasn't _at all_ interested in the new girl.

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 **A/N: Sorry about the lack of editing/spacing at the end there! I'd edited the document and saved it, but I guess the final save didn't go through before I posted it the first time. But rest assured it's fixed now!**

 **Anyway, someone is in denial, oh my~ There will be at least 2 more chapters of this as the patron's reward for future months, so look forward to more!**

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 **Please review!**


	2. The Safest Place

**This is the same patron's reward for the next consequent month's worth of their support to me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n. I anticipate this fic to be one more chapter!**

 **If you'd like rewards like these, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!**

 **Disclaimer I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 2. The Safest Place

It had been two days since Weiss Schnee had moved into the girl's dormitory at Vale University, and Blake still couldn't get her off her mind.

She just kept making up excuses, attributing her infatuation only to Weiss' physical appearance, and then telling herself she was just being foolish.

 _Again, it's not a crime to think someone is pretty. It doesn't mean I like her._

Perhaps if she told herself that enough times, she might actually start to believe it.

She spent the rest of her weekend thinking about the new girl, though she made absolutely certain to keep her thoughts to herself, lest her nosy best friends make this even more difficult for her.

Thankfully, Yang hadn't said anything more by means of teasing or implying Blake had a crush, so at least that was a small blessing. Ruby seemed none the wiser, and in Blake's opinion, the fewer people who knew about this fleeting crush, the better.

It was now early Monday morning, after a night of movies where Ruby and Yang had yet again decided to sleep in Blake's bed. Therefore, as soon as the alarm started going off, Blake was up in an instant, accidentally elbowing Yang in the process.

"Ow... yeesh," the blonde mumbled. "All right, all right I'm up, you don't have to _hit_ me..."

"Sorry. I actually didn't mean it that time."

As the sisters rolled out of her bed, Blake made her way to her dresser to grab some clothes for the day. She changed and got ready in her bathroom, while Ruby and Yang left to prepare themselves in their own room.

By the time Blake had freshened herself up and pulled on her clothes, she noticed that she'd subconsciously decided to wear one of her nicest outfits.

 _Because I might see Weiss again today..._ But she quickly shook her head. _No. It's just a coincidence. That's all._

She started to brush her hair, again, realizing a little too late just how much time she was spending on brushing it and trying to make it neat, whereas normally she could care less. Blake quickly put her brush down and hurried back into her room to grab her bag, packing up all the necessary books for the day.

She had two morning classes and one in the afternoon today after the common lunch hour. Ruby and Yang happened to share most of Blake's afternoon classes with her, while only Yang shared a few of the morning classes.

Blake pulled out a bowl and a spoon from her small cupboards and poured herself some cereal and milk from her mini fridge. By the time she'd finished eating and knocked on the joint door between her room and Yang's, the sisters had just finished getting ready as well.

Together, the three of them headed down the halls out of the dorm room building. They passed by dozens of other girls as they went, but Blake's eyes were searching for one in particular.

Yang smirked to herself in knowing just who her friend was seeking out, but she said nothing this time.

The trio parted ways for morning classes, and Blake proceeded to her lecture hall alone. It was a large room with space for at least fifty students. She tended to sit in the back, in a place where she could still see the board and hear well enough, but where she didn't have to feel so self-conscious in knowing that rows and rows of people were staring at her back.

She sat down and began arranging her things as the rest of her classmates began filing in.

And then the last person she expected to see walked in through the doors.

A splash of white in a sea of grays and blacks and browns, Weiss entered the room with her head held high, her eyes forward and shoulders straight. She walked with a sense of purpose down the aisle of steps and strutted right up to the front row in the center of the room, where there were plenty of vacant seats.

Blake watched her silently, admiring her confidence. In spite of the fact that she'd only just arrived a few days ago, Weiss could still walk into a classroom like she owned the place – and perhaps she really could afford to.

The class they were now sharing was a core course, so it made sense that Weiss was here, no matter what her major might've been.

Professor Port walked in just a few minutes later and welcomed the class.

"Good morning! It's such a pleasure to see all of your bright and shining faces early this Monday morning! We're all eager to learn now, aren't we?"

The response from the class was half silence, and half groaning, Blake being among the former half.

But there was still one person who was interested and attentive.

The professor paused in front of Weiss and had a brief conversation with her, then got to taking attendance. Blake's name was right near the beginning, and when he called for her, she only raised her hand, fearing that if she spoke her voice might be raspy and sound weird.

 _But then... what do I care? So what if my voice sounds weird?_

She _definitely_ wasn't trying to prevent sounding strange when Weiss could hear her.

While everyone else in the room mumbled "here" or "yeah" at the professor's call, Weiss' voice rang out clearly once her name was spoken.

"Present, sir."

Automatically, the mood in the room shifted. Blake's ears twitched as people started mumbling.

"Chill out, princess. We're not in a military academy."

"Making the rest of us look bad..."

Blake couldn't help but get defensive. _She's not making you look bad. You're doing that yourselves!_

The class soon commenced, and Professor Port pulled down a projection screen to begin his powerpoint and lecture on an ancient civilization. The sound of fifty notebooks lazily flopping open filled the room, pens clicking, more groaning and yawning.

Blake jotted down whatever notes she thought were more pertinent, copying the words on the powerpoint rather than the professor's voice.

Most of the students had learned by this point in the semester that they could drown him out and leave his questions unanswered without penalty. Whenever he asked them a question, Blake usually knew the answer, but the fact that no one else raised their hands made her feel awkward if she did, so she tended to refrain.

But things were different today. As soon as Professor Port asked his first question, a hand shot up from the front row of seats. Blake's ears flicked as she peered down the rows in front of her to the girl clad in white.

"Ah, yes!" the professor bellowed. "Finally, a response from this class! And it's from someone who's only just gotten here! Go right ahead, Miss Schnee."

Weiss lowered her hand to fold it neatly into her lap and replied in a clear, intelligent voice.

"The Great War occurred approximately one-hundred years ago, and involved the four major kingdoms at the time: Mistral, Vacuo, Vale, and Menagerie. At the conclusion of the war, once the peace treaty was signed, each kingdom contributed one major advancement in modern technology to share with the rest of the world..."

She went on in detail for a moment, and by the time she was finished speaking, Blake knew she wasn't the only one in the room who'd been floored by Weiss' textbook-perfect response. Professor Port actually applauded her.

"Bravo, bra-vo, Miss Schnee! What an excellent response! I'm impressed! The rest of you would do well to study as hard as your new classmate here. She's only been here for ten minutes and she's already participated more than most of you have in two months! Now then..."

As he turned his back on the class and continued his lecture, Blake couldn't help but look down at Weiss once again. Her posture was straight and engaged, her attention clearly still focused on the powerpoint as her pen began jotting down everything word for word.

Blake had certainly been impressed by Weiss' extensive knowledge, and she could hear admirable whispers from a few other people as well.

But the majority of the response was less kind. There were mumbles like "Teacher's pet," and "Know-it-all," and "Show-off." Blake even heard a few harsher comments as well.

"Smart-ass," one boy grunted. "I bet Daddy paid for all her homeschooling, so of course she's a damn genius."

"Now _we_ all look like shit cuz of her..."

Blake snorted from her observant spot in the back of the room. _No. Again, I'm pretty sure_ you _guys do that all on your own._

But to her dismay, the remainder of the class was hardly any different from the start of it.

Whenever the professor asked a question, Weiss' hand was always the first, and often the _only_ , one up. He would try to call on other people, who were either incorrect or didn't elaborate as he'd been looking for, and ultimately would resort to calling on Weiss.

By the time class was over, Blake was certain that every other student in the room hated Weiss.

As they began packing up and filing out, she heard more muttered comments of "What a brat," and comments of a harsher nature as well.

Blake tried to pack her things up a bit slowly so that she might linger and catch Weiss on her way out.

But to Blake's surprise, Weiss was one of the first people out of the room. After she'd politely said goodbye to the professor, Weiss packed her things and hurried toward the doors, mingling with a crowd that seemed to part in her wake, as though her display of intelligence had repulsed them somehow.

There were cruel words about Weiss on almost everyone's lips at the time, and Blake knew it was impossible that the girl didn't hear at least a few of them.

But Weiss seemed to pay no heed to those around her. She didn't spare anyone so much as a second glance as she hurried out of the room and disappeared.

Blake was disgusted by the lack of manners from her fellow classmates. She grabbed her things and rushed out of the room, hoping to catch Weiss and perhaps say a few kinder words to her. But by the time she'd exited the room, Weiss was gone.

Heaving a sigh, Blake headed down the hall toward her next class.

 _It's a shame she's being judged so soon on her first day. I'll bet people were judging her when it was still just a rumor she'd be coming here. I feel bad for her..._

In her next class with Yang, Blake confessed her worries to her friend.

"She answered every question, so she's obviously really smart. But everyone just kept bad-mouthing her for it. It was kinda harsh, you know?"

Yang leaned back in her chair and frowned.

"Yeah, I hear ya. For whatever reason, people seem to look down on people who have all the answers and actually _try_ to be successful in their classes. It's like, um _hello_ , that's what we're _supposed_ to be doing here? It's college, for god's sake. We're paying billions of dollars so we can pass these damn classes, not sit and say nothing all semester."

Blake felt a little more relieved now that she knew there was at least one other person on Weiss' side.

"You're absolutely right. Thanks for hearing me out, Yang. I feel better."

"No sweat." Yang waved her hand dismissively, then leaned over towards Blake, keeping her voice low. "I just think it's cute how you're getting so defensive over her~"

Blake pouted, her good mood now ruined by the embarrassment.

"Oh, quit it. It's not because I li-... I mean, it'd be this way if it were anyone being mistreated for no reason. It's not just because it's Weiss, okay?"

"Yeah, I get it. I know you'd do this for anyone who was being treated unfairly." Yang patted her friend's shoulder reassuringly. "Sorry, Blake. Didn't mean to tease. But I really do think it's super sweet of you to be worrying about this girl. She'd probably be really flattered to know that a total stranger was lookin' out for her."

"Or she'd be really creeped out..."

"Nah, no way!"

The two best friends enjoyed their shared class together as they always did, by writing notes to each other, whispering jokes every now and again, and just in general trying to make the material more interesting to themselves.

At long last, they were dismissed, and the lunch hour was upon them. They met up with Ruby outside of her classroom, then continued on their way out of the building and to a large cafe on campus for lunch.

This was the spot where most students tended to enjoy their free time, as there were several different places in the same building to get different types of food, ranging anywhere from pizza to sandwiches to salads. There were vending machines with snacks and sodas, and little stands that offered plastic utensils and condiments free of charge. There were dozens of tables both inside and outside, and it was just a nice place to spend time in general.

Yang, Blake, and Ruby waited their turn on line, and then ordered their respective meals. Since Thursdays were their last day of classes for the week, they often shared a pizza then, but as for Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, the trio tended to order their favorite things for lunch.

Yang asked for a large sub sandwich, Blake requested a tuna melt, and Ruby asked for two smaller sandwiches and some snacks.

Once they had all their food, they brought everything over to the table where they typically sat, in the corner by the windows, their casual conversations about classes and current events already in full-swing.

Lunch time hadn't changed since middle school in the sense that it was still everyone's favorite time of the school day. It was a chance to de-stress a little bit in between classes, to satiate their growling stomachs, and to socialize like they weren't allowed to do during lectures.

Ruby and Yang always knew how to make Blake laugh, no matter how awful of a morning she'd had, and the same was true for her if one of the sisters was ever feeling down. But today, there were smiles all around as they took bites of one another's food and enjoyed themselves, just as everyone else around them was doing.

Or so it seemed.

It was Ruby who paused mid-chew of her sandwich and made a little "oh!" with her mouth full, which resulted in her scrambling for a napkin.

"Easy, sis," Yang chuckled. "Swallow first, speak second."

"Look who's talking," Blake mumbled good-naturedly.

Ruby quickly gulped down her food before leaning over the table, her voice hushed.

"Guys! Isn't that the new girl? What's her name... Weiss?" She nodded in the direction behind Blake and Yang, and both of the older girls peered that way.

Sure enough, Blake recognized that light-colored dress and snow-white hair. Weiss was sitting in the centermost table, the one that was typically left vacant since no one wanted to be in the line of sight of every other person in the building.

But the most heartbreaking part of it all was that she was entirely alone. No one was sitting with her, no one was even pausing as they walked by to say hello to her, or even so much as smile at her.

Her posture was still straight and professional as she picked miserably at her salad, but Blake could guess that the girl was downtrodden and nervous, and just very skilled at concealing it.

Weiss left her salad unfinished, then pulled out a book to read.

That was what made Blake flinch.

She knew that tactic all too well.

Before she'd met Ruby and Yang, Blake had been the same way. She'd always sat alone at lunch and in classes, and pulling out a book was just an excuse to focus on something else other than the fact that she was utterly alone in a place full of people.

Even though she didn't want to pity Weiss, Blake's heart went out to her. Evidently, the sisters' did as well.

"That sucks," Yang sighed. "All alone on her first day..."

"And you know no one is going to go talk to her," Blake mumbled. "Not when the whole campus knows who her father is, and how smart she is. They think she's a stuck-up show-off."

"That's mean!" Ruby whined. "Everyone should have someone to sit with at lunch time!"

"Well then," Yang nudged her little sister's shin beneath the table. "Why don't you go ask her to join us?"

"H-Huh? Me? I can't do it! What if she yells at me? I'm younger than everyone else here, after all. She'll just think I'm a kid and ignore me. You do it, Yang!"

"Oh, please. You really think a fancy gal like her would even look twice at me if I were to go over there?"

Her refusal left only one person left. Ruby and Yang both looked to Blake encouragingly.

"Me?" She shook her head right away. "No way. I'm a Faunus, and from what I've heard, her family doesn't really _like_ us..."

"But those are just rumors!" Ruby pointed out. "You don't know if it's the truth!"

"The same goes for you then," Blake countered. "You don't know if she'll be mean to you or write you off as a kid. And Yang, you don't know that she'll ignore you. We're all just... doing what everyone else is doing. We're just... making baseless assumptions about her..."

Blake's shoulders slumped as the realization hit her, and a wave of guilt washed over herself and her friends. Yang was the one who voiced what was on all of their minds.

"Crap..."

By that time, the majority of people were beginning to exit the cafe in preparation to get back to classes. Ruby checked the clock and sighed.

"Well... maybe we can talk to her tomorrow. Lunch is already over..."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Guess so."

Blake could only nod as well. She still felt bad about making assumptions about Weiss when she didn't even know her yet. But she was determined to make up for it as soon as possible.

Blake gathered up the garbage from their table and took it to the nearest trash can, which just so happened to be near Weiss' table. As she walked, she stole a glance, not at Weiss in particular, but rather at the book she was absorbed in, trying to glimpse a title.

Distracted thusly, Blake ended up hitting her shoe on a chair, causing the remnants of Yang's sub to bump into her chest and smear all over her shirt.

 _Wonderful._

Blake deposited everything into the trash and hurried back to the table to tell the sisters she'd have to run to the bathroom to clean herself up.

"If I miss the first few minutes of class, just let me copy your notes later tonight, okay?"

"Sure thing," Yang said. "Now hurry up and go wash off! Ruby and I'll head out."

"See you in class, Blake!"

The Faunus girl nodded, grabbed her bag, and hurried off into the restroom.

She toiled several minutes away there, dabbing wet, soapy paper towels onto the stains on her shirt, grumbling under her breath about her own clumsiness.

By the time she'd gotten the stains out, there was still a large damp spot on her shirt, but she didn't have the time to dry it off.

Blake hurried out of the restroom and back into the now-vacant cafe.

Or at least, _mostly-_ vacant.

With a gasp, she skidded to a sudden halt when she crashed right into Weiss, who had just stood from her chair and started packing up her things. Blake's cry of surprise mixed with Weiss' yelp as she was pushed backward, her weight shifting dangerously as her book dropped from her hands. Instinctively, Blake lashed out and grabbed her wrist, giving a tug to both prevent Weiss from falling backward and herself from falling forward.

"I'm so sorry!" She reached out to grab Weiss' shoulder in an effort to steady her. "Are you okay?"

The other girl shook her head, wincing slightly from the impact, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been if she'd fallen and hit the floor or table. She cracked one eye open, then the other, to discover that a Faunus girl was holding her hand, looking up at her with panicked eyes.

Weiss recognized those golden eyes...

" _You_ again?"

The words came out harsher than she'd anticipated, but it wasn't because she was trying to scare her off - that was just how her voice sounded when she was surprised. Weiss righted herself, shaking her head to clear it.

"Aren't you... the girl who tripped and dropped her laundry the other day?"

Blake was taken aback by Weiss' observation, but she was more surprised than offended by her tone.

"Y-Yeah... That was me. You, um... you _noticed?_ "

"Of course I noticed!" Weiss snapped. "How could I _not_ notice someone tripping all over themselves right next to me? I tried to help, but-" She cut herself off promptly and looked away. "Never mind... You're... awfully clumsy, aren't you?"

That was perhaps her biggest problem. She always made her observations right away and spoke without thinking it through first, which often resulted in her unintentionally offending people. Weiss feared she'd done it again, and she was about to tug her hand away when the Faunus girl replied.

"Yeah. Again, I'm really sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I? Oh, let me get your book." She released Weiss' hand and crouched down to pick up the fallen tome. Blake managed to catch a glimpse of the cover page and title, discovering she recognized it. "Oh, I've read this one. Do you like it so far?" She handed the book back to Weiss, who accepted it only to put it away.

"I suppose..."

Blake was a little surprised at her unresponsiveness. The girl who'd been giving paragraphs for answers in class just an hour ago was now down to two-word replies.

Blake could sense she was about to leave, but she wanted to at least say something first, now that she'd gotten this far.

"Um... welcome to Vale University, Weiss," she said, offering a smile. "My name's Blake. If you... need any help or anything, you can always ask me. I'm in your history class."

She bit her lip a little as she waited for a response. Weiss had turned away from her, showing Blake her back so she couldn't see her expression.

A moment of silence dragged on between them, and Blake felt her heart begin to thump harder.

Little did she know Weiss' was doing the same.

The first person her own age to talk to her at her new school was a clumsy Faunus girl.

 _And her name is Blake..._

There were only two words she needed to say in response. Two simple words of gratitude.

But Weiss couldn't help but give her default kind of response, one that clearly showed how competent and self-efficient she was as a Schnee.

"I don't _need_ any help. And I'm late for my next class."

Without so much as turning back to look at Blake, Weiss headed for the doors and slipped outside.

Blake watched her go, feeling her shoulders slumping.

Anyone else would have been angry or miffed by Weiss' response.

But not Blake.

Because Blake had once been in those shoes, and she knew all too well what was happening.

Weiss was lying.

She was acting tough, not wanting other people to know she _was_ actually lonely and wanted someone to talk to. She needed to put up a front, a false pretense that told everyone she was fine on her own and didn't need anyone, burying her nose into a book as an excuse not to converse with people for fear they might hurt her.

Blake understood that internal conflict better than anyone.

And she also knew how wonderful it felt to be released from it, to meet someone who truly wanted to be her friend.

In that moment, she made it her mission to be that person for Weiss, no matter what it took.

As Weiss hurried off out of the cafe, every step she took resonated and sent a small shockwave up directly into her chest. Her feet pounded in time with her pulse as she raced to the building where her next class would be held, not wanting to be late.

The only reason she'd lingered in the cafe long after she'd assumed it to be vacant was because she'd wanted to slip into the restroom and let out the tears that had been building up within these past several, highly stressful days.

She wasn't an idiot. She knew no one here liked her, especially not the Faunus students, due to the controversy about how her family treated customers.

She'd been waiting for that Faunus girl to leave the restroom so Weiss could hurry in and wash her face to clear the tears away before they could fall.

But she hadn't expected to be approached by that girl, and she certainly hadn't anticipated being knocked into, and then spoken to so... so _nicely_.

 _It was all an act,_ she told herself. _She doesn't actually care. No one here does. Who would bother to care about someone like me? I've got it all, don't I? Since I'm so rich, that must mean I've got a perfect life and a perfect family, right? No one here would waste their time on me..._

She knew from experience that it was best not to waste her time trying to start friendships that wouldn't last.

She'd survived middle school and high school. She knew how this worked. People would befriend her so they could copy her notes and homework, then when the school year was over, they'd forget about her entirely. Once she'd outlived her usefulness to them, she was tossed aside like trash.

So now she knew it was better to keep them away from the start so they couldn't take advantage of her. It was self-preservation, but everyone else seemed to think it was just her being a "cold-hearted bitch."

 _Whatever. I don't care what they think of me. I'll do whatever it takes to pass my classes and get out of here as quickly as possible..._

She didn't know what would come after that, and she didn't want to think about it, either.

She simply continued on her way to her next classroom, making sure to wipe her eyes before she entered.

* * *

Blake had gone to her next class right after Weiss had departed, only to discover that they'd been heading to the same classroom.

Blake was both delighted and nervous to find that Weiss shared another class with her, and it also just so happened to be the class that Ruby and Yang had together with her as well.

She greeted her friends and took her seat just as Professor Oobleck walked in, and couldn't help but let her eyes wander across the room to follow Weiss. There was an empty seat in the front row right in the middle, and that was where Weiss chose to sit.

Ruby and Yang followed Blake's gaze and murmured to one another as they saw who was in their class with them now. Their motivated smiles told Blake they felt the same was a she did; they all wanted to befriend Weiss and make her feel comfortable here.

This class went almost exactly as Blake's morning class had gone. Weiss answered almost every single question, and she answered them in perfect detail, which made Professor Oobleck go off ranting about her excellent responses.

Yang and Ruby could see and hear for themselves how the rest of the class was muttering about Weiss now, calling her names and ridiculing her for her participation. Ruby was seething in her seat before long, arms crossed and pouting heavily.

"They're all so mean!" she hissed. "Just stop it!"

Yang could tell her little sister was about to cry. Ruby had always been a very conscientious girl at heart, and seeing someone being treated so unjustly for no good reason really upset her. Yang turned to her sister and patted her head gently.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, Ruby."

Ruby rubbed her eyes and said nothing more.

But she and Yang both couldn't help but notice every time Blake's ears flicked and twitched, because it always happened whenever Weiss in particular spoke.

Blake even answered a question once, and Weiss actually turned around in her seat for the first time to make eye contact with the speaker. Blake met her eyes as well, and both girls instantly looked away, shuffling their feet.

Ruby and Yang saw everything.

Since Weiss was seated in front of them, it was much easier for Blake to stare at her back and steal glances at her. But Weiss did occasionally turn her head and pretend she was looking at the clock on the wall as an excuse to catch a glimpse at Blake.

Ruby's sour mood was soon made better as she realized what she was witnessing. She even hissed a whisper to her sister, just to confirm.

"Yang... do you think that Blake..."

"Oh, without a doubt, sis," she chuckled. "Without a doubt."

When class ended, Weiss was the first person out of the room, and the sisters could tell Blake was very mush dejected by the fact that she'd failed to catch her. Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her friend in close.

"Don't worry, Blake. You'll get her tomorrow."

" _Get_ her? Don't make it sound so weird, Yang..."

"Catch her!" Ruby tried to help. "She meant you'll be able to catch her tomorrow, and then you can talk to her!"

"I don't need to talk to her..." Blake mumbled.

To the sisters, it was far too obvious that she liked Weiss, and Weiss had even seemed to have taken a noticeable interest in Blake as well.

The trio of friends had dinner together that evening as always, but after that, Ruby and Yang elected to actually sleep in their own room that night.

They wished Blake goodnight and closed the door joining their rooms before crawling into their bunk beds. Ruby was on top, and she stared up at the ceiling, feeling a little too excited to sleep right away. Instead, she gave a little knock on the side of her bunk bed to alert her sister.

"Hey, Yang? Do you think Weiss likes Blake, too?"

Yang considered the question for a moment before replying.

"I'm not sure. Could be. Even if she doesn't _like_ her, she's definitely interested in her, at least just as a friend. That's what it seems like to me, anyway."

"Is there anything we can do?" Ruby wondered. "I don't want Weiss to keep being lonely at school. It makes Blake sad, too..."

"Well, sis, Pyrrha once told me that we should let the chips just fall where they may in these kinda situations."

"Oh... yeah, I guess so..."

"Buuut~" Yang went on in that mischievous tone of hers. "It can't hurt to give 'em a push in the right direction, don't you think?"

"Yeah!" Ruby chirped. "I wanna help them! How can we do that, Yang?"

"Well sis, you just listen for now. Then you can be the hero tomorrow."

* * *

Even though Blake had gotten to sleep alone that night without Yang snoring and Ruby crushing her with sleepy hugs, the Faunus girl woke to find she was more exhausted than usual.

She'd tossed and turned a lot last night, her thoughts having been too focused on Weiss to allow herself to sleep well. She'd just kept thinking about the painful loneliness she herself had once felt before Ruby and Yang had come along. To know that Weiss was experiencing that same pain right now only fueled Blake to try and help her out sooner. She just didn't know _how_...

But luckily for her, her best friends had stayed up late last night in the room next door, discussing just the perfect plan.

Ruby coached herself all morning on what Yang had suggested. She was nervous about it, and her sister had offered to do it herself, but Ruby refused.

"No! I can do it!" she assured her. "I'm the one who judged Weiss and decided she was mean before I even spoke to her! I've gotta make things right, so I'll do it!"

Their class schedules on Tuesdays and Thursdays were different from those on Mondays and Wednesdays, so Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Weiss saw each other a little less or a little more depending on their classes and time of day. But at lunch hour, they all ended up in the same place as yesterday, with the three former girls sitting together, and the latter alone.

Blake had been glancing at Weiss more and more, and both sisters had noticed that Weiss was coyly trying to do the same whenever she could.

But since neither girl was confident enough to take the first step, it was up to Yang and Ruby to give that little push.

Near the end of lunch, Yang gave her sister a nod, indication to enact their little plan. Yang herself stood and got Blake's attention.

"Welp, we should probably head to class now."

"I guess so..." Blake shot one last glance at Weiss before turning toward the doors.

Ruby grabbed everyone's garbage and piped up.

"I'll throw this stuff away! And I gotta pee, so I'll catch you guys later!"

"All right," Blake said.

"Sounds good, sis!" Yang gave her a wink before slipping her arm around Blake's shoulders and walking with her to the exit door. It would be her job to boost Blake's confidence a bit and talk to her privately about Weiss now.

And Ruby had a different job.

She darted across the room like a gust of wind to throw away the trash, then paused a few feet shy of where Weiss was still sitting. At first glance, she appeared to be reading, but Ruby could tell she wasn't really focusing at all.

 _Okay, deep breaths! You can do this, Ruby! Just like Yang told you! Yang's doing her part right now with Blake, so you gotta do yours!_

The thought that her actions might prove to have good outcomes for both Blake and Weiss empowered Ruby to push through that final bit of her social awkwardness barrier and clear her throat.

"Um, excuse me?"

At first, Weiss didn't even look at her, so Ruby tried again.

"Um... your name is Weiss... isn't it?"

Once it was made clear whom Ruby was addressing, the white-haired girl looked up at her.

"Can I _help_ you?" she snapped.

Ruby visibly flinched, but stood her ground. A spark of recognition flashed through Weiss' eyes then, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Aren't you Blake's fr-... I mean, you've got a few classes with me, don't you? What do you want?"

Ruby's mind almost went completely blank, and she nearly forgot everything she'd come over here to say. But the fact that Weiss had just said Blake's name served to remind her, and the brunette went on determinedly.

"Um... I know it's probably not my business, but..." She trailed off, nervously flicking her eyes up into Weiss' intense blue ones.

"Well?" Weiss growled. "If it's none of your business, then why are you even talking about it?"

"B-Because!" she squeaked. "Because, I... I don't want you to be all alone, Weiss! None of us do! A-And you keep looking at Blake and everything-"

"What?" Weiss pushed herself up from her seat, half-humiliated, half-outraged. "What makes you think you've got the right to be saying things like that?"

"Because we just wanna help!" she whimpered. "You... you'll never get to know Blake better if all you do is look at her. Maybe you can try to... talk to her... if you want... A-And you're always welcome to sit with us at lunch, too. We just wanted to let you know that..."

By some miracle, she'd said all she'd needed to say, and so she waited for a moment to see if she'd get a response.

But Weiss only stared at her, lips slightly parted and eyes wide. She didn't say anything, and Ruby was feeling too uncomfortable to linger.

"S-Sorry for all of this," she mumbled. "But we really mean it. Honest."

And with that, she hurried out of the cafe without looking back.

. . .

Blake didn't know why Yang was suddenly talking to her about Weiss so much. It was making her suspicious somehow.

"You should chat her up sometime," Yang was saying. "I think it could pay off for the both of you!"

"It's not that simple, Yang," she sighed. "I mean, she's always so busy. Either she's on her way to class or she's doing homework or she's reading, and I know better than anyone how annoying it is to be disturbed when you're reading."

"Maybe so," Yang agreed. "But that's only when you're _actually_ reading. When you're just staring blankly at the words and not even turning the page, that's when you're _wishing_ someone would come over and talk to you."

Her comment caused Blake to clam up and think for a good long while.

For the remainder of the day, Blake continued glancing over at Weiss in the front of the classroom whenever she could, and she noticed that Weiss was catching her eye more often than usual now.

Blake resolved herself that afternoon. She didn't even complain that night when Ruby and Yang squished into bed with her – Blake was too focused on her goal, her mind set on tomorrow's lunch hour.

* * *

The morning classes came and went yet again.

Blake looked at Weiss.

Weiss tried not to look at Blake.

Ruby and Yang watched the whole thing.

Weiss had taken up a good chunk of the class that morning answering questions, which resulted in an influx of the usual harsh comments once class was dismissed.

Blake growled under her breath as Yang tried to calm her down, rude comments filling the room. Weiss was still packing up her things, so Blake knew she'd heard them this time.

"Schnee steals the show _again_. What else is new?"

" _God_ , she's so annoying."

"I just wish she'd shut the hell up for once."

"The more she talks, the longer he keeps us in class."

Blake was fuming now, feeling Yang's hand braced on her shoulder.

"Hey, take it easy," she murmured.

Blake flashed her a furious look.

"How can they say those things?" she hissed. "She can _hear_ them!"

And that fact was soon made all too clear to Blake when she witnessed Weiss hurrying out of the room, wiping her eyes. Blake's ears caught sound of a small sob as she passed, and then disappeared.

Instantly, Blake's fury melted into dismay, her voice cracking.

"Yang... she _heard_..."

Blake felt her own tears welling up now.

Yang quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, hey! Easy, Blake. We'll find her, okay? We'll make it right."

Blake sniffed once, then nodded, her determination rising up full-force.

They collected Ruby on their way out, then hurried to the cafe.

Blake prayed Weiss would be there. She'd never forgive herself if she'd waited just _one day_ too long to say what she'd wanted to say to her.

But when they ran inside the cafe, Blake found Weiss' usual table empty.

"Oh no..." Ruby whimpered. "She didn't come here today?"

"Shit..." Yang clenched her fists, wishing she could sink her knuckles into every person who'd ever said something rude about the girl.

But Blake's initial panic didn't last. A sense of calm and understanding soon washed over her.

"No... it's okay. You guys go sit down. I'll get her."

She didn't say that she would _find_ her, because she already knew where Weiss was.

So Blake went to go _get_ her.

She hurried off toward the restrooms, pushing in slowly but with a sense of urgency.

Weiss was there, holding a wet paper towel over her face, sobbing softly into it. Blake's chest ached horribly for her, but she was just glad that she'd found her.

Slowly, she approached the crying girl, seeing her old self in Weiss – bullied, vulnerable, and alone.

But not anymore.

Blake reached out and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Weiss jolted, gasped, and whirled around, unintentionally revealing her tearstained face in the process.

"Y-You-! Wh-What are you d-doing-?"

"It's all right..." Blake cupped her free hand over Weiss' and carefully guided the paper towel back up to her face. "You probably hate it when people see you crying, right?"

Weiss' only response was to dip her head back down into the paper towel and sob again.

Blake kept one hand on the girl's shuddering shoulder and the other over her trembling hands. She made sure her grip was light, so Weiss could push her away if she wanted to.

But instead, Weiss came closer and all but crumpled into her arms.

Because for Weiss, that felt like the safest place to cry.

She wasn't afraid to take that chance.

And neither was Blake.

Blake closed her eyes and happily hugged her close, shedding a few tears of her own.

She was so glad she could be here for Weiss. She was so glad she could be the person Ruby and Yang had been for her.

Weiss cried for several long minutes, hiccups causing her body to jolt over and over again. Blake waited as long as Weiss needed her to, and was glad to do so.

At last, Weiss stepped away and tossed out her paper towel. Without a word, Blake helped her to the sink, holding onto her shoulders as Weiss splashed some water onto her face. She dried herself off again, sniffling a few more times as she struggled to find her voice.

"I... I'm sorry..." she whispered. "I'm such a mess-"

"Weiss?"

Blake's tone was so soft, so gentle, so caring. Weiss couldn't help but lift her gaze to seek out gold, naturally drawn to that kindness.

"Would you like to come sit with me? My friends would really love to meet you."

Weiss swallowed thickly, refusing to let so much as another tear fall in front of this girl.

But maybe... just this once... it wouldn't be so bad to open up to someone else.

She wiped her palm over her eyes and dipped her head.

"I think... I'd like that..." She did her very best to give the Faunus girl a smile. "Thank you... Blake."

Blake beamed back at her and softly took her hand.

She led Weiss out of the bathroom, past the lonely, vacant table in the middle of the cafe, and toward the one where two eager sisters were waiting for them. Both of them squealed and gasped and clapped excitedly when they caught sight of Blake now.

Blake coaxed Weiss forward and pulled up a seat for her, having her sit down right next to her.

"Ruby, Yang..." Blake began with a smile. "This is Weiss."

* * *

 **A/N: So much happened in this chapter! I made sure to comply with the patron's requests and added in little details they wanted to see. Next chapter will be the last for this fic!**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	3. By Her Side

**The last continuation for Bjorn Jeppsson's monthly P-a-t-r-e-o-n rewards! This is the scenario they asked for in detail!**

 **If you'd like rewards like these, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 3. By Her Side

It wasn't long before Blake and Weiss started getting closer to one another.

They'd overcome the initial shyness around one another rather quickly, even despite the murmurs and rumors from their classmates.

Blake didn't ever think her crush on Schnee's daughter would bear fruit, especially when the family was notorious for being discriminatory against Faunus in their business.

But Weiss seemed to return her feelings, even if she demonstrated them in different ways.

After the incident in the bathroom, Weiss started to hang around Blake and the sisters as often as she could.

And they were more than happy to have her around.

They'd always been happy as a trio, but adding Weiss into the mix only made the enjoyment level rise.

They'd sit together whenever they had mealtimes, most days at lunch and every day at supper. When they had classes together, they changed their seats to sit next to one another, and even started arranging study sessions and times to work on their assignments together.

Weiss helped Ruby with a lot of the things she didn't understand, and her extensive knowledge benefitted Yang as well.

As for Blake, sometimes the Faunus girl just needed a moment of peace and quiet, away from the rowdy, excitable sisters. During those times, she would text Weiss to see if she were free, and if she was, they'd meet up and go for a quiet walk around campus together, or they'd find a tranquil spot at one of the courtyards to read.

Sometimes they talked a lot, discussing current events in the media or on-campus, or if the conversation strayed onto other topics, they'd keep going for as long as they could, just to hear one another speak.

And sometimes they wouldn't say anything at all. They found that just being quiet together was enough.

They learned more about each other, little by little.

After a lot of treading on eggshells about the most sensitive topic, Blake finally felt comfortable enough one day to ask Weiss about her family.

She learned that the Schnees had, in fact, acted horribly toward Faunus customers at one point in time. But Weiss explained that had been during her grandfather's generation, back when discrimination against Faunus was regrettably more commonplace.

But Weiss assured that her father, older sister, and herself engaged in no such practices. She assured her that whatever bad news about their family arose in the media today were simply trickles of old rumors passed down from her grandfather's time.

Blake was so relieved to know the truth, though she'd always had an inkling that it would be some kind of misunderstanding like that.

In exchange, she told Weiss about herself, how she used to be treated unfairly in middle school and high school because of her Faunus heritage.

The Faunus and human students had often formed their own groups, and not many interacted with the others. But in a certain year, there was a successful movement within the education system for teachers to help integrate the students in a safe and comfortable manner.

In this way, the human and Faunus students started to get along with one another, and even make friends.

Which was how she'd met Ruby and Yang.

She also opened up enough to tell Weiss about her first boyfriend, although it had ended in an amiable breakup. Weiss took a sympathetic interest in that subject.

"So did you find any other guys after that?" she wondered. "There are a million better ones."

But Blake shook her head and smiled.

"I'm sure there are. But I realized I'm not interested in the boys."

And it hadn't taken much more than that.

They'd both felt it, the intangible connection drawing them in to one another bit by bit.

Weiss had always thought that Blake acted differently around her, though not in a bad way. She was always much more aware around Weiss, much more open, and much more considerate.

Not to say she wasn't all of those things around Ruby and Yang, but Weiss felt it was in a _different_ way with herself.

She didn't want to come off as conceited, so at first, she didn't mention it.

But it soon became clear - far too clear to ignore.

Blake showed her affections in the sweetest of ways.

She always asked how Weiss was feeling, because she'd come to learn that Weiss was extremely sensitive, despite the brave face she always put up.

Blake tended to talk to her in private about a lot of things, and eventually, she started to become more comfortable around Weiss as well. She would put her hand on Weiss' shoulder when she was stressed out, talk her down from episodes of distress, and try to redirect her attention to better things.

She was cautious with her touch, knowing Weiss was much more fragile than she appeared to be.

And she didn't want to overstep her boundaries or do something she might regret.

So she waited for a normal day, when nothing had gone wrong and neither of them were upset about assignments or tardiness or anything like that.

They went out for a walk together like always, sat on a bench beside the garden area, and indulged themselves in books. Blake read for fun, and Weiss read for classes.

Blake inched her hand closer and closer to Weiss', subtly, casually, as to not make a big deal out of it. Her fingers brushed against Weiss' knuckles and she paused, waiting for a reaction.

Weiss seemed to stiffen, but she didn't withdraw her hand or say a word.

So Blake took her hand, slipping her fingers in between hers, until Weiss' palm was settled against her own, shy smiles spreading across their lips.

And that was how it happened.

Quietly, comfortably, and naturally.

. . .

They told Ruby and Yang the next day, once Blake and Weiss themselves were sure this was exactly what the other one wanted.

And they both assured the other with unmistakable smiles, and a tight embrace that left no room for questions.

The sisters weren't the least bit surprised by the news. They were, of corse, ecstatic and congratulated their friends on their newfound relationship, but it seemed Ruby and Yang had been anticipating this from the very beginning.

"It was... kind of totally obvious," Yang told them.

Blake blushed and turned her face away, while Weiss tried to defend herself.

"It couldn't have been _that_ obvious! Right, Ruby?"

She turned her attention to the youngest girl, who squeaked and hid behind her sister.

"Um... sorry, Weiss, but... yeah it was kinda obvious I think..."

Yang chuckled as Weiss' face just got redder and redder.

Weiss grabbed Blake's hand and pulled her out of the room so they could cool down from the embarrassment of it all.

But what started off with shyness and disbelief soon transformed into excitement and confidence.

They didn't hold anything back after that.

They walked to classes hand-in-hand, leaned on one another during mealtimes, and always started or ended the days with hugs. When they couldn't be together physically, they were always sending texts or calling each other.

They got attached to one another very quickly.

So it wasn't long before Yang was encouraging her best friend to ask Weiss out on their very first date.

The three of them were lying in Blake's bed that night, as they often did, discussing Weiss.

"I think it's time, Blake," Yang was saying. "You two've been seeing each other for two weeks now. You've been the talk of the college – a Schnee and a Faunus! I think it's time you guys start enjoying yourselves _off_ -campus. Take her out to eat or see a movie or something!"

"You really think so?" Blake glanced to her left to look at Yang, pajamas disheveled and hair a mess. Her friend grinned.

"Of course! In fact, I think you guys should've already had your first date by now. You go at your own pace, but don't you think you guys are at that milestone by now?"

Blake didn't say anything right away, so Ruby spoke from her other side.

"I think it'd be nice for you guys! You've only ever been together on-campus so there's always been this... academic atmosphere in the backs of your minds. You guys should go out for a night on the town where you don't have to think about homework and essays and stuff!"

Blake had to admit the sisters made a valid point, and she also liked the idea of going out alone with Weiss. She wanted to take her somewhere nice, where there wouldn't be college-related things to distract Weiss and potentially stress her out.

So Blake glanced to Ruby and Yang each with a smile.

"I think I will," she decided. "This Saturday, I'll take her out if she's available for it."

She asked Weiss about the idea the next day, wondering if a date would be something she'd be interested in at this point of their relationship.

A part of Blake had wanted to surprise Weiss the day of the intended date by just taking her out without warning to show her a good time. But the more rational part of herself knew Weiss probably wouldn't like a surprise like that if she couldn't prepare for it properly.

Therefore, Blake made sure to ask her about it that morning before they headed off to classes.

"Say, Weiss? Do you have any exams early next week?"

Weiss pondered for a moment, her eyes shifting out of focus for a second as she went over her schedule mentally.

"No," she replied at last. "My next upcoming test isn't until Thursday. Why do you ask?"

When Weiss tilted her head to one side and gave Blake a curious look, the Faunus girl shuffled her feet a little nervously.

"Well... I was just wondering, if you're free, if maybe you'd like to... go out this Saturday evening? We could go to town and do some shopping and maybe have dinner. Does that sound okay?"

Weiss was clearly a little surprised by the offer. Her eyes widened and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

Blake's ears were flicking uncertainly as she waited for a reply, but Weiss didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, so she responded right away.

"Of- Of course! Blake, that sounds wonderful! I'd love to go out with you this weekend!"

With a tug of Blake's hand, she pulled the Faunus girl in and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She wasn't sure what else to say, so she simply said what was on her mind.

"Thank you for asking me."

Blake's ears shot up happily as she returned the hug.

"You... You don't have to thank me for it. I just... figured it was something we could do now since we're..." She trailed off, but she didn't really have to finish speaking anyway.

A small purr rose up in her throat as she nuzzled into Weiss' shoulder, glad that her idea of a date hadn't been off-putting to her somehow.

A moment later, Weiss stepped back, still smiling.

"Let's work out the times and details after class."

Blake nodded.

"Sure."

After that, both of them were much more attentive during their lectures and much more eager to hold hands in the hallways or at lunchtime. With Yang and Ruby's help, they planned out the perfect time and activities for their date, which was something they were all looking forward to now.

* * *

The remaining days of the week passed by, and by Saturday morning, Blake was all jitters. She fretted about what to wear and how to do her hair, so much so that Ruby and Yang couldn't help but think it was cute how thoughtful she was being.

Yang suggested she shower in order to cool off both literally and figuratively, and Blake agreed on the idea. While she was cleaning off, she let her mind run wild about all the things she wanted to do with Weiss today. The more she thought about it, the more excited and impatient she got.

Thankfully, Ruby and Yang were there to calm her down and help her choose an outfit. Blake stayed in her sleep-clothes until after lunch so as not to make herself messy. But as soon as the afternoon was well underway, she pulled on her black jeans and low-collared purple shirt, the skin of her chest tactfully concealed by a black tank-top underneath.

She left her hair down, but Yang insisted she "spice it up a bit" and took the liberty upon herself to curl her friend's hair for her. She made sure to only style the ends though, so she could avoid putting the curling iron anywhere near Blake's sensitive ears.

The results were a very charming, never-before-seen version of Blake Belladonna.

Ruby and Yang couldn't sing her enough compliments, to the point where Blake was beginning to fear she'd overheat from the blushing long before she made it outside to go pick up Weiss.

It wouldn't be long now...

Before she headed out, Yang gave her a pep-talk, explaining things Blake could probably expect from this date, as well as things and gestures she'd be better off avoiding. Blake listened attentively, a serious expression on her face all the while. After all, she wanted tonight to go smoothly, for both Weiss' sake and her own.

Once Yang deemed her friend ready to go, she pulled Blake in for a big hug.

"Go get her, tiger!"

Blake shyly squeezed her back.

"Thanks, Yang."

"And don't forget!" Ruby pitched in. "If you need to, you can text or call us at any time!"

Blake nodded as she and Yang parted.

"I will. Thank you both. I just... I just want tonight to be perfect."

"Of course you do," Yang smiled. "I hope it will be, too."

"Me, too!" Ruby piped. "We'll be rooting for you, Blake!"

"Thanks," she chuckled. A glance at the alarm clock told her it was time to fetch Weiss. "You guys can hang out here if you want to. Just-"

"Ohhh no, no!" Yang shook her head immediately. "Not tonight! We're not gonna be crashing in your room on the night of your first date! What if you and Weiss decide you wanna come back her and have a _different_ kind of fun?"

That turned Blake's cheeks redder more quickly than anything else.

"Y-Yang! We're not going to-"

"Buuuut just in case!" Yang continued. "Ruby and I'll chill in our own room tonight." She swept her little sister in to her side and gave Blake a wink. "Come on, Ruby. We can play that new board game."

"Oh! Oh! Yeah, I can't wait!"

As Yang led Ruby to the joint door between their rooms, Blake headed for her own room's exit door. She checked her pockets to make sure she had both her phone and her wallet, and then grabbed a small, light jacket from the back of her desk chair. She tied the sleeves of the purple plaid material around her waist so she'd have both her hands free, and then took a deep breath to steel herself.

 _It's fine. Tonight's gonna be great._

With that motivation in the back of her mind, she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind herself.

Making the walk to Weiss' room was somewhat unnerving. When Blake was alone, her mind tended to sink into the worst-case scenarios.

 _What if the place we go to has bad food and she gets food poisoning? What if I didn't bring enough money with me? What if her father happens to pass by and sees us together?_

All of these and a million other thoughts buzzed through her head as she made her way to Weiss' room. She was so preoccupied with considering horrible thoughts that she very nearly walked right into the door.

Blake straightened herself up immediately and took another deep breath before knocking.

"On moment!"

The sound of Weiss' voice served to calm Blake down in a matter of seconds, and any doomsday thoughts were expelled from her mind the second that door was opened.

Weiss stood before her, adorning the same white dress she'd worn on the very first day Blake had ever laid eyes on her in-person. The soft, downy material fell all the way down to her knees, where it poofed up slightly and made small waves all the way around.

Her toes were visible by the straps of her fancy shoes with small heels underneath. There was a blue-tinged, faux-fur shawl around her shoulders, covering her otherwise exposed upper arms. A necklace with a simple silver pendant sat at the base of her throat, matching earrings dangling from each lobe.

Blake had never seen so much of her skin before all at once, nor had she ever seen Weiss look quite as stunning as this. There was perhaps a faint dusting of makeup on her cheeks, but the blush was genuine for sure.

And her eyes were as dazzling as ever, bright pools of the sky even as nighttime would soon be upon them.

Blake was rendered speechless for a long moment, eyes flicking up and down over Weiss, trying to visually absorb every inch of her and engrave this image into her memory.

Little did she know that Weiss was doing the same for her.

They both stood there in shocked silence for a minute or so, trying to calm down their fluttering hearts. Being the more vocal of the two by nature, Weiss inevitably broke the stunned silence.

"Good evening, Blake," she began. "You look marvelous." She stepped forward and reached out to take both of Blake's hands. Two Faunus ears perked up tall at the contact, making her realize she should respond somehow.

"I-I should be saying that! Weiss, you look... so incredible. I... I can't even describe..." She looked down at the floor, struggling to find proper words to express how she was feeling. Weiss squeezed her hands gently.

"You really think so?" she wondered softly. "You don't think this is... _too_ much?"

Blake immediately shook her head.

"No! Not at all! Weiss, this is perfect! _You're_ perfect!"

In her haste, she'd spoken rather quickly and without thinking it through, but the words were all truthful and stemmed from her heart.

Weiss shied her gaze away from Blake's, her voice small.

"You... do you really think that...?"

Blake wasted no time in responding. She gave a gentle tug to Weiss' hands and pulled her in closer, brushing her cheek against hers.

"I really do. Of course I do."

The smile that spread across Weiss' lips was so heartfelt that it made Blake smile as well. Weiss looped her arms around Blake's shoulders and sighed against her chest.

"Thank you, Blake."

To Blake, it sounded like she wasn't just being thanked for a compliment. It sounded as though Weiss was thanking her for something she'd been wanting to hear for her entire life.

Blake circled her arms around the small of the other girl's back, gingerly pulling her close.

They stayed there for a moment, the much-desired and long-needed contact from one another serving to ease their nerves.

Blake relished the feeling of Weiss in her arms, looking so gorgeous, fitting so perfectly.

And Weiss relished being there, feeling so warm, so accepted, so safe.

When at last they pulled apart, both girls were all excited smiles and rosy blushes.

"Well then," Weiss cleared her throat. "Shall we be off?"

Blake nodded and dipped her torso in a small bow.

"Please."

She gave her arm in a slightly-humorous display of old-fashioned courtship. Weiss played along with her and slipped her arm through the crook of her elbow, stepping close.

And just like that, the nervousness was nowhere to be found for either of them. All that radiated from them now was excitement and joy.

They headed out of the dorm building, knowing the remainder of the evening would be filled with similar emotions.

And it was.

Despite how naturally nervous they'd both been about their first date alone together, the afternoon plans went without a hitch.

Blake and Weiss did a bit of shopping together, after which they enjoyed a leisurely walk around the local park. They rested plenty in between to ensure neither of them would get tired, or Weiss' shoes wouldn't bother her.

There was no pressure for this date to be perfect as they'd both feared there might be. Rather than fretting over all the things that might go wrong, they enjoyed the evening as it went wonderfully right.

After viewing a beautiful sunset over the park's large, serene lake, the pair headed to a local restaurant for dinner.

They sat across from one another as they discussed the menu, smiling and laughing as they shared stories about humorous experiences they'd had previously, be it at family dinners or out with friends. But this was the first time that either of them were out to dinner for a romantic date rather than a family occasion or a fun night with friends.

As they waited for their food to arrive, they discussed at length how to pay for it. Both wanted to treat the other, but neither wanted to be treated. So in the end, they agreed to pay for the cost of only the other person's food. Blake gave Weiss cash to cover her portion, and Weiss would pay with her card to cover the rest.

They ate and enjoyed themselves, each admiring how the other's mannerisms changed so drastically here at a nice restaurant versus at the school cafeteria.

Blake made sure to engrave as much of this into her memory as possible, never wanting to forget her very first date with Weiss.

But she was still unsure about how they were supposed to end the night once they got back to campus. She'd intended to take her date back to Weiss' own room and wish her goodnight.

But... what about a kiss?

Blake had been internally debating all day whether or not she should kiss Weiss tonight, and she wondered how to react if Weiss ended up kissing her first.

But she'd also decided that she'd be fine if there was no kiss at all. She was just happy to be with Weiss.

For now, Blake was steeling herself to attempt a kiss on the cheek, but at the first sign Weiss wasn't interested, she'd gladly hold back.

Just thinking about it now was making her giddy as she finished her last mouthful of supper, then reached for her water glass to wash it down.

Weiss had finished a moment ago, and was also pausing for a sip. All they needed to do now was wait for the check, pay, and head home. A very simple, easygoing end to the night.

Until Blake noticed them.

A group of well-dressed young men had been sitting several tables away from them all evening, but now they were stealing glances at Blake's table. Her ears flattened when she noticed they were standing up, but not to leave. They were coming towards them.

She didn't know who they were, but they seemed to know Weiss.

Blake hastily put her glass down and straightened her posture, wondering if these were privileged family friends of the Schnees. She wanted to look presentable in case word somehow made its way back to Weiss' father.

Weiss quirked an eyebrow at her from across the table and put down her glass.

"Blake? What are you doing?"

Blake could only flick her eyes behind Weiss and swallow as the boys approached. Weiss stared at her a moment longer before her attention was forced onto the group, who startled her with a loud, rather obnoxious greeting.

"Yo! Issat Schnee's daughter?"

"No way! Funny seein' you here!"

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Not since the banquet a few months back."

"You still hate dancin'? Cuz you wouldn't dance with _any_ of us!"

Weiss turned in her chair to face the four of them, who loomed over her like vultures.

Blake's assumption that they were family friends or cousins to Weiss was instantly tossed out the window when she witnessed the way they were treating her. These weren't amiable people – they were sore losers who couldn't take no for an answer.

Blake could see the recognition in Weiss' eyes as she looked them over, and that was shortly followed by a spark of dread and displeasure.

But Weiss had to keep up appearances, especially in a public place like this.

"Gentlemen," she said cooly. "It _has_ been awhile, hasn't it? Though I'm sorry to say we were just leaving."

"Whoa, whoa," one boy held up his hands. " _We?_ "

"Yo!" another shouted. "She's having dinner with the Faunus!"

"What? No way, man. Schnees hate Faunus."

"Well then what do you call _that?_ "

The last boy rudely pointed a finger at Blake, as though he were pointing out some object in a thrift store.

She wanted to retort. She really did. So many years of abuse and discrimination had forged Blake into a person who would fight to defend herself rather than take insults without question.

But she couldn't fight back. Not this time. Not when Weiss' reputation – and perhaps Weiss _herself_ – was in jeopardy.

So Blake held her tongue, toes curling in her boots, fists clenching in her lap, unseen.

"Weiss," she said calmly. "We should leave. We're going to be late."

"No."

Blake was more than a little surprised when Weiss refused her.

But Blake wasn't made to think that Weiss intended to go along with and entertain these boys.

Instead, her body language demonstrated just how _livid_ she now was.

Weiss stood from her seat slowly, and even with the shawl to cover her, Blake could tell her shoulders were tense. She faced the quartet of boys, all of whom were taller than herself, but she met their eyes with unflagging ones. Sternly, she made sure she had everyone's attention before she went on in a low, almost threatening tone.

"We aren't leaving until they apologize for their _inexcusable_ behavior."

Her voice sent a chill up Blake's spine.

But while she had to admit it was very flattering how Weiss was keen on defending her, Blake didn't want this incident to cause problems. She stood as well, reaching out for the other girl.

"Weiss-"

"Whoa, there!" One boy cut her off, though he was still looking at Weiss. "I don't see anything _we_ gotta apologize for. All we did was come say hi to you."

"Oh, but dude! We forgot to say hi to her Faunus friend!"

"Oh, right! My bad! Hi there, kitty kitty!"

They all laughed and started making demeaning gestures at her.

Blake couldn't hide her shock that time. It had been so many years since she'd been subjected to such awful treatment, but the pain would linger with her forever, festering like a wound that would never fully heal.

Instinct told her to run, as it always did, but she had to think rationally here. She had Weiss to consider.

But it seemed... Weiss didn't require consideration for this any longer.

With a ferocious stomp that didn't at all seem to go with her small white shoe, she silenced the boys in a split second, taking them aback. Like a white tigress, she prowled forward, blue eyes burning cold fury.

Her glare told them everything her lips didn't – how she wasn't at all happy with the way they were acting, how she wouldn't hesitate to notify her father that they'd been harassing her, how her father wouldn't hesitate to take immediate action on Weiss' behalf, no matter what it cost these boys and their families.

All of this she conveyed with only her eyes, flashing her gaze to each of them so their small brains would comprehend her. But just to be clear, she made sure they understood with a single word.

" _Apologize_."

She wasn't asking.

The boys started to retreat, mumbled words of regret lingering in the spaces they once occupied before they hurriedly shuffled out of the restaurant.

Weiss watched them go without blinking – that same tigress watching pesky hyenas flee from her territory. She'd gone easy on them this time – just a warning growl – but if it happened again, she wouldn't be afraid to use her teeth or her claws.

Blake was transfixed in a mixture of shock and admiration. She'd _never_ seen Weiss act like that before.

It was different from the tough-girl act she'd put on during her first few weeks of school. Rather, this was an entirely different side of her, one of bravery and protection.

Blake could feel tears welling up behind her eyes, and she reached for a napkin to dab them away.

It was then that Weiss turned back to her and noticed. Her serious expression faded into one of concern and dismay as she scurried to Blake's side.

"Blake! I'm... I'm so sorry-" She reached out her hands, but wasn't able to bring herself to touch her. She felt guilty, like it had been her fault those boys had attacked Blake.

But Blake quickly shook her head and dropped the crumpled napkin back onto the table.

"No... Weiss, it's okay. It's okay."

She lifted her face to reveal a smile. They were happy tears, tears of relief, tears of joy that someone would stand up for her the way Weiss had just done.

She could tell Weiss was trying her hardest to prevent herself from crying as well. Blake reached out and pulled her in, sighing as she rested her chin over Weiss' shoulder.

"Thank you... you didn't have to do that... for me..."

A beat of silence passed, and Weiss started to sniffle. But she returned the hug as tightly as she could, swallowing thickly.

"Of course I did... it was my fault they were so horrible to you... Because you were seen with _me_..."

But Blake wasn't about to let Weiss blame herself for this. She shook her head and wrapped her arms fully around her back.

"No... Weiss, people like that... they would've come to bother me even if I'd been by myself. It had nothing to do with you."

"But because I was with you, it gave them reason to be even more horrible! It's because of who _I_ am-!"

"Weiss... please. It's okay."

Blake kept her there, in her arms, hoping Weiss knew that Blake meant every word she was saying.

Weiss didn't try to pull away, either. She just stayed there, face buried into Blake's collar, weeping so softly no one else would've ever known. But Blake could tell she was trembling, her back jolting from little hiccups.

By now, several waiters and other staff from the restaurant had approached them, asking them if they were all right. Blake could also see that other workers were lingering at the table where the four boys had sat, looking at their check, most likely to find some sort of identification so they could be tracked down and penalized for disrupting other guests' mealtimes.

Blake assured everyone that she and Weiss were fine, and after a moment, Weiss wiped her eyes and agreed. The staff apologized on behalf of the boys, while the girls ensured it was no fault of theirs. They made their payment for the evening, and then headed outside into the cool twilight air.

Weiss kept close to Blake's side, but didn't look up at her, despite how many times Blake glanced down at her. She could see Weiss' breath very faintly in the chill of the air, and when she focused on her, she could feel her shaking.

Blake brought them to a halt and quietly untied the soft little jacket from around her own waist, then draped it over Weiss' shoulders and shawl.

That was the first time since they'd left the restaurant that Weiss looked up at her. Blake smiled, but it soon faded when she realized Weiss' eyes were glazed over.

Blake pulled her in, then coaxed her to have a seat on a nearby bench. Blake sat beside her, reaching out into Weiss' lap to cover her hands with her own.

"Hey..." she murmured, golden eyes searching blue. "Weiss, are you okay?"

Her posture was slouching a bit, and her eyes were still unfocused. Blake could safely assume she was still dwelling on the incident at the restaurant, still blaming herself for it.

Weiss blinked, seemingly pulled from the trance by the sound of Blake's voice. She let out a withering sigh, clearly still distressed.

"Blake... I'm so sorry-"

"Hey, hey..." Blake hushed her, slipping a hand onto her back and rubbing gently. "I already told you, it wasn't your fault. You don't have anything to apologize for, Weiss. I promise."

Weiss still looked miserable, so Blake wasted no time in pulling her into another soft embrace. Weiss returned the contact lightly, with much less vigor than Blake might've liked. It felt like Weiss really hadn't forgiven herself. Blake hoped she was just tired from the eventful evening they'd shared.

After a few minutes, Blake coaxed Weiss to her feet again. Slipping one arm around her shoulders, she began walking back toward campus with her.

It took about fifteen minutes to make it back to the dormitory building, but once they were inside, Blake was thankful for it. Weiss was shivering so much, even with the added weight of the borrowed jacket over her shoulders.

The heat of the building was welcomed now as Blake started leading her up the stairs. That was when she was finally able to muster up the courage to ask her.

"So... Weiss? Would you like to come back to my room tonight? I-I mean just for a little while. We could watch a movie or something. Y-You don't have to sleep there."

She could feel her face heating up with every word spilling out of her mouth, and a part of her instantly regretted asking without thinking her words through properly.

But as they reached the hallway, Weiss actually smiled for the first time after the restaurant incident.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Blake. But... I'm sorry. I think I'll have to refuse for now. I'm... very tired..."

Blake couldn't help but take her words as a rejection of some sort. Her shoulders slouched visibly, and her ears drooped a little, too.

Appalled, Weiss gasped and quickly shook her head, grabbing both of Blake's hands in her chilled ones.

"No, no! Blake, please! Don't think of it like that! I'd actually... I'd love to go back with you, but I... tonight I'm just..." She sighed, dropping her gaze to the floor. "Just... maybe some other time."

Blake bit her lip, mad at herself that she'd made Weiss even more upset.

"No. _I'm_ sorry, Weiss. I understand it was a bit of a crazy night. Of course you should get some rest. Come on." With a smile, she squeezed both of her hands. "I'll take you back to your room."

Coyly, Weiss reflected that smile, and followed after her.

They reached her room in a matter of minutes, and Weiss fished her key out from her purse to unlock the door. She flicked on the lights inside, then turned back to Blake, lingering in the threshold.

A beat of silence passed between them. Neither wanted to leave or be left, but they knew it was inevitable.

Weiss seemed to recall Blake's jacket around her shoulders and made a move to shrug it off.

"Oh. I should return this to you. Thank you, Blake."

But as she handed it over, Blake pushed it back to her.

"It's all right. Why don't you keep it for tonight? You still seem a little cold. Give it back to me tomorrow."

Weiss hesitated, then drew the jacket back to herself.

"Thank you."

"No need."

Another moment of silence.

Blake knew it was now or never.

She took a step closer, her eyes never once leaving Weiss'.

They were both uncertain, but they both wanted this.

Didn't they?

There was only one way to find out.

Blake leaned forward, until her breath was dancing across Weiss' cheek.

Weiss stayed put, inhaled, and closed her eyes.

The kiss was soft, brief, but perfect.

It was just what they'd both needed.

Blake pulled away as soon as it was over, scanning Weiss' expression for a reaction.

Weiss brought both hands to her face, hiding her mouth. She swallowed hard and whipped around, blushing madly.

"Th-Thank you for tonight, Blake."

The Faunus girl smiled shyly.

"I had a wonderful time with you, Weiss. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"All right." She made a move to turn and take her leave, but something kept her there a moment longer. "Are you... are you sure you're okay? After everything...?"

That time, Weiss didn't give her a direct answer.

"Goodnight, Blake."

Perhaps it was the way Weiss' answer didn't coincide with Blake's question, or perhaps it was the slight tremor in her voice. But something made Blake linger outside her door, just for a moment...

As it turns out, a moment was all it took.

Weiss stumbled into her room, closing the door behind her, but not even thinking to turn the lock. Her legs had been wobbling ever since those boys had approached them, and her chest still felt tight, even after all Blake had done to help calm her down. There was an almost acidic feeling in her stomach, and she felt as though she might lose her supper.

She'd been so scared in front of those boys, repeat offenders who had always enjoyed harassing her in the subtlest of ways during family banquets. She'd been sacred of them hurting Blake, but most of all, she'd been scared of _losing_ Blake.

Weiss dreaded the thought of Blake leaving her because of some thoughtless comments strewn about by rude strangers. And she hated to consider what Blake might think of her if she saw her like this, an absolute wreck who couldn't even calm herself down long after the incident was over and done with.

With a sob, she fell to her knees, the thud making a sound loud enough for keen Faunus ears to catch. Blake whipped around to face the door again, all senses on high alert now.

"Weiss? What was that? Are you okay?"

She waited anxiously, but couldn't make out a definite response. All she heard were incoherent mumbles, and the unmistakable sound of crying.

Panicked, Blake tried the door knob, and when it gave, she pushed right in, concern high in her tone.

"Weiss?"

She found her there on the floor, crumpled up into a ball beneath the white of her dress and the black of Blake's own jacket. She was hunched forward over her lap, breathing frantically, trying to no avail to get control over her sobs.

Blake dropped to her knees instantly, frightened and unsure of what to do.

"Weiss? Weiss, w-what's going on? Wh-What do I do? Weiss?"

Her hands fumbled for something to do, eventually finding their way to Weiss' back and chest. Blake could feel every desperate breath, every choked sob clogging her lungs. She was shaking, but it was a thousand times worse than before.

Blake suddenly understood that she'd never been shivering from the cold at all. It had always been from this fear, this anxious panic boiling inside of her. Now it was overflowing, and Blake didn't know what to do.

She held Weiss up as best she could, rubbing her back and patting through her hair. The sounds of Weiss' strangled whimpers made her ears hurt, and Blake was at a loss.

"Weiss, I... I've gotta call someone. S-Should I call for help? O-Or I can call Yang, m-maybe she'll know what to-"

But Weiss shook her head, broken sobs and fragments of words still pouring out between gasps. Her eyes found Blake's, and there was a plea in them.

"N-No..." she rasped. "P-Please, don't... I-I just need..."

Blake was having trouble making sense of her words, but she could understand for the most part.

"What?" she asked, relieved that there might be something she could do to help. "Weiss, what do you need? Please tell me, _please_ -" She could feel her own tears already dripping down now, but she didn't want to let her own emotions get in the way of helping Weiss. "Please..." she begged. "Wh-What can I do...?"

She'd do anything.

She'd run across campus to fetch the nurse herself and bring her there if she needed to.

She'd carry Weiss to the first aid center if that was what she needed.

She'd do anything just so Weiss would be okay.

But even though Blake had been preparing herself to run at Weiss' request, she found it wouldn't be necessary.

Weiss managed to find the strength to reach out her arms, which she wrapped around Blake's shoulders. Her grip was so feeble her hands almost slipped right off.

But Blake was quicker. She returned the hug instantly, locking her arms around Weiss' back firmly, but with care. She pressed herself close to her, steadying Weiss' posture with her own. Weiss' chest heaved against hers as she buried her face into Blake's shoulder, hiccuping.

"J-Just this..." she whispered. "P-Please..."

Blake squeezed her tighter, giving a nod of assurance Weiss could feel.

"Okay," she murmured. "If this will help you, i-if this is what you need." She sniffled, swallowing down more sobs at the sound of Weiss' suffering. She could feel a violent throbbing in her chest, but she knew the pulse wasn't her own.

Blake tensed, nuzzling into the side of Weiss' neck, whispering as calmly as possible to her. "Hey... it's okay. I-It's gonna be okay, Weiss. It's okay..."

It was difficult to say those things when there was little evidence they could be proven, but Blake was determined to make her promised whispers into a reality. Somehow. She'd do whatever it might take.

Weiss seemed to believe her, because she kept nodding, whimpers and gasps mixing together on Blake's collar. The Faunus girl could tell that what she was doing was actually helping Weiss, so she didn't stop.

"It's all right. Just... Just take it easy, okay? You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine."

A tense moment passed by in this manner. Though Blake felt her calming words were helping Weiss a little, the relentless hammering in Weiss' chest was still troubling her greatly. Weiss was clearly still in great distress, and her sobs only quieted down, but they didn't slow very much.

Blake held her still in her arms, trying to provide a grounding sort of pressure, but not wanting it to be too much for Weiss to handle. She didn't want to hurt her.

Weiss clutched at her back as though for dear life, still trembling almost spastically.

"B-Blake..." she coughed. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Hey, hey..." Blake kept her tone low, and very, very calm. "No, don't do that, Weiss. You don't have to do that. Trust me. Please. It's okay."

She continued running her palms up and down Weiss' back, coaxing her to sit up straight so she could breathe a little better. Blake cradled the back of her head, threading her fingers into the silver locks.

"Gosh, your heart's pounding... Just take deep breaths, okay? Nice and slow. Here, try with me."

Blake took in a deep breath, slow and steady despite the situation.

Weiss did her best to copy it. Her throat was tight, and her chest still felt clogged. It was difficult for her to get the air in enough to have the desired effect, and her exhales always seemed too fast, too choppy.

But Blake didn't give up on her, nor did she let Weiss give up. She just kept up her slow and steady pace, coaxing Weiss to follow along.

"That's it. You're doing fine," she murmured. "It's okay, Weiss. You're okay. I'm here. I'm right here."

It took a while. Weiss was crying and shaking for a long time, and for both of them, it felt much longer than it actually was.

But Blake didn't give up, and neither did Weiss.

Eventually, after many drawn-out minutes of their breathing control, Weiss finally calmed down enough to breathe on her own.

Blake could feel the change in Weiss' condition. The trembling dwindled almost to nothing, and her heartbeat slowed in pace and lessened in severity. It settled back at the center of Weiss' chest, comfortably and naturally.

Blake couldn't help but let out a sob of her own now, one of the utmost relief. Weiss was still crying too, but the sobs were much less painful, and the tears were on their way out.

They stayed there a while longer, their embrace never faltering for even a second. Weiss kept trying to apologize, but every time, Blake just assured her she didn't need to.

By the time they finally parted, it was nearly midnight. Blake kept her arms loosely around Weiss' waist, allowing her to move however she needed to. But Weiss seemed content to simply stay there, tucked into her shoulder, sighing softly.

Blake didn't mind.

After what they'd been through tonight, she felt bold enough to lean in and kiss Weiss' temple.

In return, she felt Weiss' lips against her neck, light and brief.

Weiss held her in a way she'd never been held by anyone before. It made Blake feel important, like she was truly precious to someone. She wanted Weiss to feel the same way when she held her.

And judging by the way Weiss' body language had relaxed, a drastic change after the panic attack, Blake felt she'd succeeded.

The silence was comfortable now, but the two of them were beginning to realize the time, and the fact that they were still dressed in their date clothes. Eventually, Blake eased herself back, her ears flicking nervously.

"Are you all right now...?"

Weiss offered a smile and a nod. Reaching up, she gently dusted her fingers over Blake's Faunus ears, stroking them soothingly to help them perk up.

"Yes. I'm fine now. Thank you, Blake."

A sigh of relief tumbled out of the dark-haired girl's lips.

"You don't have to thank me."

"But I want to."

Weiss sidled forward, her knees brushing Blake's as she got closer. With a shy blush painting her cheeks, she leaned in to kiss her cheek again.

Only now that she knew Weiss was entirely all right did Blake let out the beginnings of a purr. Weiss rested her chin on Blake's shoulder, sighing softly.

"Blake...?"

"Yes? What is it?"

Weiss hesitated, as if bashful about what she was about to ask.

"Does... does your previous offer still stand? I... don't think I want to be alone tonight..."

Blake's response was to tighten her hug around Weiss' back.

"Of course. Of _course_ you can stay with me."

Another sigh of relief.

" _Thank you._ "

From there, it was a matter of helping one another to their feet. Both of them were a bit unbalanced after spending so long on the floor, but they managed to get up with one another's help.

Blake waited for a moment as Weiss went to her drawers, gathering sleepwear and other essentials for the night. Once she was ready, she returned to Blake's side and gave a nod.

They stepped out into the hallway, and once Weiss had turned off her light and locked the door, she followed Blake back to her room. It was a relief to Blake to find that Ruby and Yang weren't there as they'd said they wouldn't be.

And as Weiss excused herself to the bathroom to change, Blake scurried over to lock the joint door from her side. She knew the sisters would understand, and she'd explain everything to them tomorrow.

Even though the four of them had had little slumber parties and the like before, Blake was still enamored with the site of Weiss in her fitting blue nightgown, her silver hair wavy down her back. Blake had always wanted to tell her how lovely she looked in it, but until now, she'd never had a good reason to. So she didn't waste a second tonight.

"You look beautiful," she murmured, opening her arms to pull Weiss in. Weiss huffed in mild embarrassment.

"You flatter me too much."

"I'm only speaking the truth."

When she pulled back, she caught a good glimpse of Weiss in the dim lamplight. A healthy pallor had returned to her cheeks, and the usual spark had lit in her eyes once again. But she was clearly very exhausted after the long evening.

Blake still needed to change, but she led Weiss over to the bed first.

"Here, sit down. You must be so tired."

"I could say the same about you," Weiss retorted gently. "Don't dilly-dally and keep me waiting."

That was her own way of saying 'please come join me soon.'

Blake dipped her head in a nod, then kissed Weiss' forehead.

"I'll be out in a minute."

With that, she hurried over to her dresser, grabbed her pajamas, and slipped into the bathroom. She made quick work of changing into her loose purple top and black shorts, then brushed her teeth and did whatever else she needed to. She checked her reflection as though she were about to go on another date. But in a way, she sort of felt that she was.

All the times she, Weiss, Yang, and Ruby had held little movie nights or parties in her room, Weiss had ended up going back to her own dorm to sleep, more often than not. The few times she'd stayed over, she and Ruby had slept on the bed while Blake and Yang had taken the floor.

But tonight...

This would be the first time Blake would be able to sleep next to Weiss.

As her girlfriend.

She hadn't really considered the word until now, but now that she thought about it, that _was_ what they were to each other.

Thinking about it made her all the more excited, but as she finally stepped back out into her room, she tried to stay composed.

Weiss was still sitting on the bed, her legs over one side, waiting patiently with her hands folded in her lap. The lamplight illuminated her skin, adding a golden highlight to her silver hair.

Blake tried not to stare as she approached and took a seat next to her on the bed. Weiss wasted no time in leaning against her side, slipping an arm around the small of her back. In response, Blake copied the gesture, letting the girl rest her head on her shoulder.

For a moment, they were both quiet, sitting together in the calm night, undisturbed. Their minds replayed events of their evening together and tried to focus on the better things.

But it wasn't long before they started to feel the effects of it all.

A petite yawn from Weiss was what motivated them to start getting ready for bed. Blake nuzzled into her girlfriend's cheek, coaxing her back a bit so she could look into her eyes.

"Tired?"

Weiss nodded.

"Just a bit."

But before they could move to lie down, Blake reached out and took both of Weiss' hands, gaining her full attention.

"Blake? What is it?"

Faunus ears flattened guiltily.

"Weiss... I'm sorry about everything that happened today. I know it wasn't either of our faults, but still I... I just wish our first date could've gone better... Why did all of this have to happen _tonight_...?" She blinked, realizing there were warm tears stinging behind her eyes.

Blake sniffled and hung her head, wiping her face against her shoulder.

It was Weiss' turn to reassure her now. She wiggled her hands free of Blake's grasp only so that she may cup her cheeks, pet through her hair.

"Oh, Blake..." she murmured. "Don't cry. It's all over with now. And it all turned out just fine." She curled her arms around her shoulders and pulled Blake in, letting her hide her face in Weiss' collar. "It's okay. The bad things that happened didn't change the fact that I had a wonderful time with you tonight, Blake. I've never been happier than when I'm with you." She pressed a kiss to each of Blake's Faunus ears, feeling as her girlfriend's fingers curled against her back.

Blake nodded, sniffling again.

"Me, too, Weiss. I've... I've always been happy with Ruby and Yang, but... but with you... it's different. I've never been _this_ kind of happy before." She wiped her eyes and sat back, sunset-gold locking with sky-blue.

Another beat of silence passed, and for this, they didn't need words.

Both girls leaned in, quietly, nothing but a single breath between them. Blake's eyes asked the question, nervous, excited, and earnest. Weiss dipped her head and closed her eyes.

Blake didn't try to think about it too much. She just pressed her lips against Weiss' without sparing the time to be scared about it, or think about how monumental this moment was for each of them.

She closed her eyes too, and lingered for a moment, unsure of if she should continue or not.

But Weiss helped her decide. She returned the kiss, adding a bit of force to it, but only enough to tell Blake it was okay.

So Blake stayed, moving her lips in time with Weiss'.

When she was finally cognizant enough to realize this was actually happening, she found the ability to move her hand up to Weiss' hair and thread it through her fingers. In return, Weiss' palm found its way to her cheek, and Blake leaned into it, feeling the soft creases of her skin and the smooth curves of her nails.

Theirs was a gentle love, tentative but somehow certain, not unlike their first kiss.

It lasted for a moment or so, until both parties felt it was time to pull away.

They did so, eyelashes fluttering open, shy smiles forming on now-warmed lips.

Blake couldn't stop herself from pulling Weiss in yet again, undeniably ecstatic. She heard Weiss make a small, happy sound in the back of her throat as she returned the embrace, sighing blissfully.

Blake began to let out a purr, a full, hearty rumble that wordlessly told of every emotion she was feeling right now. Weiss cuddled into her lap, nestling into the side of her neck.

Blake held her for a moment longer before shifting a little. She flicked off the bedside lamp, leaving the room in darkness, save from a sliver of moonlight coming in through the curtains.

Carefully, she laid Weiss down on the bed, positioning her at the center of one of two pillows. Blake had never been more thankful for her oversized mattress before in all her life.

Weiss tiredly moved her legs while Blake pulled the sheets and blankets up over her. As soon as Weiss was settled, Blake laid down beside her.

Her enhanced night vision had never been more appreciated than it was at this moment.

She propped herself up on her elbows and gazed affectionately down at her sleepy girlfriend.

Weiss always looked so beautiful. She had ever since Blake had first laid eyes on her.

But there was something _particularly_ charming about getting to see her curled up in Blake's own bed, hair slightly frazzled and clothes slightly ruffled from the soft passion of their first kiss.

She must've been staring for too long, because Weiss cracked open an eye and gave her a pout. Blake chuckled sheepishly and moved closer, dipping down to kiss her cheek again.

Weiss opened her arms, and Blake eased herself down into them. She draped one arm across Weiss' stomach and bent the other off to one side of the pillow.

Weiss stayed on her back and lowered Blake down on top of herself. Her hands found their way to the top of her head, and the soft ears that perked there. Slowly, Weiss began to massage them, scratching the sensitive fur lightly, with always the perfect amount of force.

Blake absolutely melted in her arms, letting out a low rumble from her chest.

For a while, Weiss' fingers stroked from her ears, through her hair, and all down her back. And Blake's purr never lessened or slowed as she pressed close, her presence providing a steadying pressure for Weiss.

But eventually, the exhaustion caught up to them both.

Weiss' ministrations slowed gradually to a halt, both hands going still in a loose embrace around Blake's shoulders. Her breathing became much slower and much deeper, until Blake knew for certain she was asleep.

Only then did she turn her head sideways to rest it over her girlfriend's collar and allow her own body to beckon sleep. Her ear found itself over Weiss' heartbeat, and for a long time, she simply listened, committing the rhythm to memory.

Memories of the night replayed in her mind, but Blake tried to focus on the here and now.

Weiss was here with her, safe and peaceful, and that was all she needed to know.

She fell asleep in the arms of the girl she'd once been nervous about, of the girl she'd seen the more delicate side of, and of the girl she'd grown to love.

Blake considered herself the luckiest girl in the world.

After all, Weiss was the best chance she'd ever taken, and the only one she'd ever care to succeed with.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks so much to Bjorn for their continued support and for the nice fic idea! I hope you all enjoyed reading! There will be an epilogue, too!**

 **If you'd like rewards like these, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


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